In Praise of the Russian Left-Back

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When it comes to naming the top players in a club with the stature of Manchester City it is easy to mention the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Aguero and Fernandinho. However, one player that has stood out this season is Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Russia will be able to breathe a sigh of relief after Belgium national team boss Roberto Martinez has confirmed that striker Romelu Lukaku will not be available for the Euro 2020 qualifying match between the two nations. This will be the first qualification match for the Euro 2020 and Lukaku is unavailable due to a foot injury. The Belgian striker was unavailable for Manchester United’s recent match against Wolves, which ended in a defeat in the FA Cup. He does not appear to have recovered in time for this crucial qualifier. However, Martinez has hinted that Lukaku may be available for the second qualifier, which will be against Cyprus, in a few days.

After spending most of the campaign struggling to overcome a goal drought, Lukaku has been in fine form over the last month. He has been able to reclaim his spot at the top of the Manchester United scoring charts this season following a string of goals. So far, he has been able to come up with 12 league goals and this has been largely helped by a brace in the last three matches. Martinez admitted that Lukaku was in a poor run of form, but his current form means that Russia will be quite happy with the news. After back-to-back defeats in which Russia failed to score a goal, Cherchesov will be keen to see his team get a positive start.Continue reading “Romelu Lukaku to Miss Euro 2020 Qualifier against Russia” →

Dinamo Moscow have been underwhelming in the Russian league this season sitting just a single spot outside the relegation places. This is to be expected after the financial and administrative mess the club found themselves in recent years.

Russia international player Yuri Zhirkov believes that the national team needs to improve on the international scene. He said that the team performance was really bad at the last World Cup and it is important that the federation work on that.

The former Dynamo Moscow player said that there is so much potential in Russia but it is sad that it is not exploited at the maximum. He believes that the Russian football federation should be investing more money in the development of grassroots football so as to help the national team in the long run.Continue reading “Russia needs to improve” →

Zenit St Petersburg star Oleg Shatov has indicated that team are eager to secure a victory over Rubin Kazan during their final home game of the calendar year. The Russian heavyweights are currently leading their league standings with a two-point gap over Krasnodar and they have the opportunity to maintain the advantage against a defensively-minded Kazan this weekend.

Marco Silva has confirmed that Nikola Vlasic could have a future with Everton once he returns from his season-long loan with Russian giants Spartak Moscow. The 21-year-old joined the Toffees from Hajduk Split during the summer of 2017 but he did not have the best of debut seasons as he managed just 11 matches under three different managers.

With the appointment of Silva, Vlasic was offered a temporary switch to Russia as he could not assure him of regular gametime and the Croatian has certainly taken the opportunity with both hands with a flourishing start to the season which has included a Champions League winner against Real Madrid.

Speaking to reporters, Silva said that there is every possibility of the attacker making a name for himself with the Toffees once he returns from the temporary stint, he said: “It’s possible. Me and him, when we spoke, he needed time to play. He could return to our club. He is playing well. We will follow him and take that decision. He is playing well and that is important because he is our player.”Continue reading “Marco Silva confirms Nikola Vlasic could return after Russian stint” →

Russian Premier league has been dealt with a blow after the loss ofQuincy Promes from Spartak Moscow. The Dutch international has decided to move to La Liga outfit Sevilla and he has been able to convince the Russian Premier league team to sell – even when his contract runs for the next three years at the least. The 26-year-old was the top scorer for Spartak Moscow last season and his departure is a major blow for the club. This does spell good news for the likes of Dynamo Moscow, who will be looking to take advantage of with some impressive set of results in the league.

Spartak management has revealed that they have decided to accept the offer after considering the player’s wish to play for Sevilla. Since he has been extremely crucial to the successes achieved by Spartak Moscow in the last couple of years, they have decided not to stand in his way. It is reported that Spartak Moscow have agreed a fee of around € 20 million for the transfer of the midfielder. After moving to the Russian team in 2017, the midfielder came up with 66 goals in just 135 matches. Last season, he contributed 15 goals in the league and ended up as the top scorer in the league. This helped him pick up the Player of the Year title last season.Continue reading “Spartak Moscow Midfielder Joins Sevilla” →

Russian footballer Yuri Zhirkov has decided to call time on his international career following the country’s exit from the summer World Cup. The Russians exceeded the initial expectations to reach the quarter-final of the tournament where they were eventually ousted by Croatia in a penalty shoot-out.

Following the exit, Zhirkov has not taken much to announce his international retirement after saying that he does not have enough energy to continue at the same level, he said: “I do not have enough energy to play at this level. The latest injury was the final signal. I’ve had no time for my family and children and this was another summer without a vacation. I would like to thank everyone who I played with, all the coaches, our fans and of course my family, who persuaded me to stay in the team long enough play to play at the World Cup. I am proud that I was lucky enough to represent my country at two World Cups and two European Championships.”Continue reading “Yuri Zhirkov retires from international football” →

Russian defender Daler Kuzyaev has admitted that the team is wary of the threat Spain may provide during their round of 16 clash. The hosts had begun the tournament with convincing wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt but they could not maintain their lead after a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Uruguay in the final group stage game.

As such, they have been pitted against Spain for the knockout stage of the World Cup and Kuzyaev admits that the team need to prepare carefully in order to secure a surprise win over La Roja, he said: “We learned upon arrival in Moscow that our next opponent is Spain… Spain and Portugal are serious opponents… Spain like to own the ball, they have the highest technical level, so we are going to study the opponent in the upcoming days. Of course, we are wary, just like we would be wary of any other opponent. We will prepare [for the game] very carefully.”Continue reading “Russian defender wary of Spain threat in the round of 16” →

Yuri Zhirkov is a major doubt for Russia’s upcoming World Cup game with Croatia. This is a quarter-final clash that could ultimately replace the show into the semifinals – a feat that they last achieved during the Euro 2008 competition. Zhirkov was a surprise candidate in the Russian national team squad, but the former Chelsea winger has certainly justified his inclusion by being able to perform admirably over the course of the tournament. He played a crucial role in the victory over Spain on penalties. It was one of the remarkable results for Russia, as they were facing backs against the wall for much of the 120 minutes before winning the game on penalties.

However, a major issue for Russia was the injury forZhirkov during the game against Spain. The Zenit St Petersburg defender appeared to suffer a serious injury which has now been diagnosed as an inflammation of a calf tendon. It is expected that this injury will take at least a couple of days in order to cure and this leaves Russia in a very troublesome position as fast World Cup qualification is concerned. With a lot of expectation arising surrounding the national team, Russia will be expected to perform even better than they have done over the course of the campaign. They now have to deal with the absence ofZhirkov. It is expected that the defender will be replaced by Vladimir Granat in the upcoming game against Croatia.Continue reading “Russia Likely to Be withoutYuri Zhirkov For Game against Croatia” →